vibrancy – The Grove Church

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The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) About four years ago my whole world was shaken. I grew up in church as the son of a full-time church minister. I had a solid upbringing and The Lord was good [...]

By Jonathan Martin|2013-01-25T19:58:09-06:00January 19th, 2013|Categories: 40 Days of Focus|Tags: joy, vibrancy|1 Comment

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Behold and Believe: Free TGCW24 Playlist

Brett McCracken’s 100-song playlist will prepare your heart for TGC’s 2024 Women’s Conference—or just encourage you to behold and believe Christ. [...]

How to Persevere in Life’s Wilderness

Ruth Chou Simons teaches how embracing God’s character can guide and sustain believers through life’s challenges. [...]

5 Principles for Reading Herman Bavinck

Bavinck is especially valuable to 21st-century readers because he was dealing with the rapid evolution and growth of modernism in real time. [...]

Christian Coach, Help Athletes Cultivate Rightly Ordered Loves

Christian coaches can help athletes learn to love sports and even to love winning—but only as much as winning should be loved. [...]

Read John Calvin’s Mail to Discover His Theological Development

Calvin’s letters verify the notion of a communion of the saints that exists beyond the walls of the local church. [...]

Four Reasons to Preach the Psalms as a Book

The intentional ordering of the 150 psalms may have been rediscovered in academia, but it has very practical benefits for the Christian in the pew. The post Four Reasons to Preach the Psalms as a Book appeared first on 9Marks. [...]

Give Them Time: How to Protect the Assuring Nature of a Child’s Baptism

How do we know if we’re looking at a good kid or a regenerate kid? The one thing we know for sure is that time will tell. The post Give Them Time: How to Protect the Assuring Nature of a Child’s Baptism appeared first on 9Marks. [...]

Four Ways God Used a Church Fire for Good

On November 1, 2022, our church building burned down. Not one part was salvageable. The fire swept through the attic at astonishing speed. Not a single notepad or paper clip … keep reading… The post Four Ways God Used a Church Fire for Good appeared first on 9Marks. [...]

Visible Grace in Disagreements

Does the tone of your disagreements sound more like the intercessions of Jesus or the accusations of Satan? The post Visible Grace in Disagreements appeared first on 9Marks. [...]

Four Benefits of Inviting Evaluation of Your Preaching

In “swapping sermons” with fellow pastors, I have discovered four benefits. The post Four Benefits of Inviting Evaluation of Your Preaching appeared first on 9Marks. [...]

Spurgeon on the Marks of a Missionary

One of The Pastors’ College’s proudest achievements was the increasing number of missionaries sent out internationally. However, Spurgeon did not forget that there was much work still to be done at home. Speaking to the Baptist British and Irish Home Missionary Society in 1870, Spurgeon sought to encourage all Christians to engage in the work of home missions. But what are the qualities of an ideal missionary? Spurgeon listed five qualities: ability to teach, willingness to toil, prayerfulness, compassion, and sacrifice. To the missionary of any rank, aspiring, current, or retired, these are encouragements from Spurgeon to lift you up [...]

Making the Ordinances Meaningful: Spurgeon on Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

As Spurgeon pastored the largest evangelical congregation in the 19th century, he understood the importance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper for their identity as a church. Rather than downplaying or individualizing them, he elevated their importance and incorporated them into their life as a church. What might Spurgeon have to say to church leaders today about making the ordinances more meaningful in the life of the church? [...]

Susannah Spurgeon: A Faithful Wife

Susannah Spurgeon experienced both tremendous joys and agonizing suffering throughout her life, but the legacy she left behind testifies to her ultimate hope in the Lord and her undying faithfulness to her husband. She lived a life of service and devotion to God and her husband, and was ever his constant encourager and source of both incredible joy and comfort. Thought she was often incredibly ill and spent many years as an invalid, she remained steadfast in trusting the Lord and His sovereign plan in all things and sought to serve both in her own home and church body. Mrs. [...]

Keep Up the Prayer Meeting Pt. 1

The congregational prayer meeting was a key component of Spurgeon’s ministry. He believed that prayer meetings were “at the very secret source of power with God and with men.” Apart from earnest, consistent prayer, a congregation should have little hope that God would use and bless their ministry. Spurgeon always gave thought and planning to the prayer meetings at the Tabernacle. He once said to his students, “Do not go walking into the prayer-meeting, as so many do, to say anything or nothing that may occur to you at the moment; but do your best to make the meeting interesting [...]

Building a Culture of Evangelism

How did Spurgeon mobilize his church for evangelism? How can we build a culture of evangelism in our churches? In one of his lectures to his pastoral students, entitled “How to Induce our People to Win Souls,” Spurgeon gives three basic principles for building a culture of evangelism: Patience, Pastoring, and Prayer. [...]

Mortification of Spin Releases Its 500th Episode

Back in 2013, Carl Trueman and Todd Pruitt launched Mortification of Spin, sharing a microphone in a small underground bunker, shooting the breeze as the British like to say. Their first episode, "Rock Star Pastors in Las Vegas," aired February 8, 2013, and received 502 plays. Some of their early guests included Steve Nichols, Derek Thomas, and author Simonetta Carr, the force behind another Alliance podcast Kids Talk Church History. All these years later, Carl and Todd no longer share a mic, but they're still going strong, celebrating their 500th first-run episode and over 2.8 million plays! Joining them for [...]

Listen to the podcasts on the Alliance YouTube Channel

Did you know the Alliance Podcast Network is now available on YouTube? You can listen to any of the Alliance podcasts on any device, including your Smart TV, media player, game console, phone, tablet, or computer. Additionally, you will find Alliance events, interviews, updates, and more on the channel. To subscribe, please visit youtube.com/@Alliance-Video and be sure to turn on notifications. On April 10 we will sharing a special video episode of Mortification of Spin—you won’t want to miss it! Continue reading The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you. [...]

The Holy Spirit with Robert Letham

Join us for the first Gap Bible Seminar of the spring semester, April 12-13, in Gap, PA. Robert Letham will teach four sessions on the Holy Spirit and His work in the Bible and today. Robert is a Presbyterian minister with twenty-five years of pastoral experience. He was formerly a professor of Systematic and Historical Theology and now serves as a senior research fellow at the Union School of Theology in the UK. He is also an associate professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a fellow in History and Theology at Greystone Theological Institute. He has written many books, [...]

Do you enjoy listening to sermons by solid, Reformed preachers?

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals has a rich treasury of sermons from throughout our 75-year history. We want these messages to have maximum impact on the Church. One of our key goals is to construct a reliable and searchable database that is easily accessible to our supporters and listeners. To that end, we are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish this project. Alliance Allies will listen to sermons, complete a simple review form, and return the form digitally or in a postage-paid envelope. That’s all there is to it! You get to listen to excellent messages from James Boice, [...]

Walking in the Old Paths

Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it." The messages from the 1993 Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology look at the “old paths” – what they must mean to us now and with a concern for our present responsibilities. Re-released with eight newly discovered messages from the pre-conference and conference workshops—this special 30th-anniversary set will surely bless your time as you listen. The PCRT 1993 Anthology includes 15 messages from John Armstrong, James Boice, John Gerstner, Phillip Jensen, Roger Nicole, and J.I. Packer—see the [...]

Door of Hope (Hosea Study #7)

(To read these posts in order from the beginning, start here.)Read Hosea 2:15-23 Last time, we stepped into the wilderness to discover that in the Bible, the wilderness is often a harsh and dangerous place God uses to test and refine his people. It is also a place where he provides sanctuary and allows his people to encounter him in powerful ways. Today, were going to go back in time a bit to when Joshua fought the battle of Jericho. Remember the scene? [...]

I Will Allure Her and Bring Her Into the Wilderness (Hosea Study #6)

(To read these posts in order from the beginning, start here.)Read Hosea 2:14Long before God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, he had another son, Ishmael. God had promised Abram and Sarai a son, and when he didn’t move fast enough for them, they took matters into their own hands. Sarai gave her handmaid Hagar to Abram as a wife and things didn’t turn out so well. Sarai became jealous of Hagar and dealt harshly with her. So, Hagar escaped into the wi [...]

Hedge My Way With Thorns (Hosea Study #5)

(To read these posts in order from the beginning, start here.)Read Hosea 2:1-13In America, committed Christians are now a “worldview minority” in an increasingly anti-Christian culture. Israel was not just a worldview minority in their surrounding culture but was a tiny speck on the map of a rapidly expanding and violent Assyrian Empire. They were also surrounded by the polytheism and Baalism of the Canaanite culture. But they were called to worship and depend on Y [...]

No, Martin Luther Was Not a Deconstructionist

This article is in response to this piece from The Gospel Coalition. As a past TGC contributor, as an act of good faith, I did express my concerns directly to TGC before posting my article here. **Update** The Gospel Coalition was gracious to publish a condensed version of my article on their site. No, Martin Luther Was Not a Deconstructionist. And neither was Jesus. Many years ago, my Christian beliefs were challenged intellectually by a progressive Christian pastor. It t [...]

Mercy Me... (Hosea Study #4)

(To read these posts in order from the beginning, start here.)Read Hosea 1:8-11More than a thousand years before Hosea, there lived a nomadic farmer who was out in the middle of nowhere minding his own business when God started speaking to him. And what God said wasn’t easy. God put Abraham through a grueling test of faith by asking him to slaughter his only son on an altar of wood. This was set to take place at a location that would eventually become the site of the first Israelite te [...]

You Are Built Up In Christ

Paul’s letter to the Colossians, along with Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and Philemon, was apparently written during Paul’s first imprisonment. If this is the case, the most likely date is around 60-62 A.D. Moreover, Paul’s letter to the Colossians covers much of the same material and uses many of the same themes as his letter to the Ephesians. [...]

Relationship To Jesus Christ & His Body

Paul's letter to the Colossians, along with Paul's letters to the Ephesians and Philemon, was apparently written during Paul's first imprisonment. If this is the case, the most likely date is around 60-62 A.D. Moreover, Paul's letter to the Colossians covers much of the same material and uses many of the same themes as his letter to the Ephesians. [...]

Christian or American

On a wintry day in 1618 Rene Descartes rejected tradition, the church, and the Bible as the source for authority. In his famous conclusion “I think, therefore I am,” he revolutionized the quest for authority. Following Descartes declaration, a new day was sprung. It was called “the enlightenment.”Deeply influenced by enlightenment thought, John Lock provided the world as well as the American colon [...]

Divisions In The Church

Divisions in the church are nothing new; they are as old as the church itself. Unfortunately, we “protestants” are the worst! [...]

How Classical Theism Has Shaped My Life

Isn’t it enough that we believe that God is good, that he created the world, that there is life after death, and that our actions garner for us divine punishments or rewards? C. S. Lewis wrote about mere Christianity; why isn’t mere theism enough? Why must Christians insist on those four theological distinctions—Trinity, incarnation, atonement,… [...]

New Credo Podcast! Whatever Happened to Contemplation? Zena Hitz

What is the meaning of intellectual life? In modern education, educators and students alike are often disillusioned by the attitude prevalent in educational institutions that emphasizes usefulness and practicality rather than contemplating the meaning and purpose of life. Zena Hitz shares her own disillusionment and frustrations as an educator, and how she found the true… [...]

Whatever happened to Contemplation? Zena Hitz and Matthew Barrett

Divine Simplicity and Trinitarian Action

One crucial aspect of storytelling is the concept of a “through line.” A through line connects themes and story structure throughout the story. In The Lord of The Rings, Frodo’s journey to destroy the Ring of Power in the fires of Mt. Doom serves to connect the many themes and subplots throughout the trilogy. Even… [...]

Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction

Life in the present world waiting on the world to come raises questions for God’s people about how to relate to our God well. The covenant of grace’s substance in redemptive history’s every era is that God will be God to us in Christ, but we still need a way to experience those heavenly blessings… [...]

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LONGTIME IMB LEADER CLYDE MEADOR DIES AT 79

By From IMB news office, The Baptist Paper reportsLongtime International Mission Board leader Clyde D. Meador died April 26, 2024. He was 79. Meador worked closely with four IMB presidents as a top advisor and executive vice president, and as the mission organization’s interim president from August 2010 to March 2011 and again briefly in […] The post LONGTIME IMB LEADER CLYDE MEADOR DIES AT 79 appeared first on Baptist & Reflector. [...]

SNAPSHOTS IN TIME: Native Son: T. B. Maston

By Baptist and ReflectorThomas Buford Maston was born Nov. 26, 1897, and grew up in New Market, Tenn. He graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1920 and later received an honorary doctorate in 1958. Maston received his master’s and Ph.D. in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he later taught for 41 years. […] The post SNAPSHOTS IN TIME: Native Son: T. B. Maston appeared first on Baptist & Reflector. [...]

A PASTOR’S RESPONSE

By Nick WilsonPastor, Lakeview Baptist Church, TiptonvilleHaving Phillip and Ellen Wright come and join Lakeview Baptist Church has been one of the most encouraging and humbling experiences of my life. When Phillip and I first met, I had no idea what was on his heart, and he didn’t know that I had been fervently praying […] The post A PASTOR’S RESPONSE appeared first on Baptist & Reflector. [...]

IT’S TRUE WHAT THE SONG SAYS: ‘CRAZY PEOPLE’ FOLLOW JESUS

By Phillip WrightMember, Lakeview Baptist Church, TiptonvilleCasting Crowns, one of my favorite singing groups, has a song with this title, “Crazy People.” The song mentions several people in Scripture that did some crazy things for Jesus. First, there was Noah who built an ark when there was not a cloud in the sky. Then there […] The post IT’S TRUE WHAT THE SONG SAYS: ‘CRAZY PEOPLE’ FOLLOW JESUS appeared first on Baptist & Reflector. [...]

TBMB COMMUNICATIONS TEAM EARNS BCA AWARDS

By Baptist and ReflectorFRANKLIN — The communications team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board captured seven awards in the 60th annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition held during the Baptist Communicators Association’s awards banquet April 24 in Richmond. In the design division, Trish Dubes, senior graphic designer, won first place for the TBMB benefits brochure […] The post TBMB COMMUNICATIONS TEAM EARNS BCA AWARDS appeared first on Baptist & Reflector. [...]

What Antisemitic Campus Chants Tell Us About This Angry Era

The rage of the mob is a poor substitute for real community. This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here. As Columbia University and other elite campuses erupt into protests against the United States’ diplomatic and military support of Israel’s war against Hamas, US Sen. John Fetterman denounced the antisemitic speech of some of these protesters, remarking on the social platform X, “Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students.” Whatever one thinks of Fetterman’s analogy or of the Israel-Hamas war, we would do well to listen to the common ring of the Charlottesville chant, [...]

Care for the Environment Is Biblical. It’s Also a Witness to Environmentalists.

Do activists often invest their work with religious significance? All the more reason for Christians to be discerning co-laborers. I love nature documentaries, especially those narrated by David Attenborough. Whether watching with my children or on my own, I love seeing the majesty of the snowy Alps or kelp forests. But I’ve noticed that in recent years, nearly every somber vignette of a species struggling on the edge of survival ends with a call to action. Viewers are beckoned to take responsibility for causing a poor animal’s plight and to consider how they can fix things before the species is [...]

India Says It Has a Border Crisis. Christians Say the Solution Will Divide Them.

The government plans to close its porous border with Myanmar to boost security, separating ethnic groups that straddle the boundary. Ngamreichan Tuithung runs a Christian boarding school that sits right at the border of India’s Manipur state and Myanmar. Amazing Grace Mission School is based in Wanglee Market, a small Indian town, and serves around 150 students from Myanmar and 6 from India. Since Myanmar’s 2021 coup, the school has become a safe haven for parents wanting to send their children away from the violence of the war raging on in Myanmar. To Tuithung, it’s an opportunity to share with [...]

After Schism, United Methodists Vote to Restructure Denomination

The plan would organize UMC churches in four global regions, with each given more leeway around same-sex marriage and other theological issues. The top legislative body of the United Methodist Church passed a series of measures Thursday to restructure the worldwide denomination to give each region greater equity in tailoring church life to its own customs and traditions. The primary measure, voted on as the UMC General Conference met at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, was an amendment to the church’s constitution to divide the denomination into four equal regions—Africa, Europe, the Philippines, and the United States. According [...]

Let the Cultural Christians Come unto Jesus

The world is realizing anew that our faith has tangible benefits. This is an opportunity for the gospel. As Christianity continues to decline in the West, the broader world has begun to notice something’s missing. There seems to be a growing awareness that—for all the scandals and failings of the church—the loss of a Christian culture leaves us all worse off, and that there are benefits to being a Christian and to living in a Christian society. For example, Derek Thompson recently wrote in The Atlantic about the loss of community that comes with declining church attendance. “Maybe religion, for [...]

Ep 820 | Did Satan Tell ‘Elliot’ Page to Transition? | Guest: Lauren Chen

Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube Watch or Listen on BlazeTV Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey: Today we’re joined by Lauren Chen, host of BlazeTV’s “Pseudo Intellectual,” to talk movies, pop culture, and news. First, we talk about movies and TV and how the approach to censoring humor has changed since the shows like “The Office” […] The post Ep 820 | Did Satan Tell ‘Elliot’ Page to Transition? | Guest: Lauren Chen appeared first on alliebethstuckey.com. [...]

Ep 819 | Jen Hatmaker Commemorates Her Divorce from Evangelicalism

Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube Watch or Listen on BlazeTV Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey: Today we start with a deep dive into Rolling Stone reporter Ej Dickson, who is in the process of writing a smear piece on conservative hosts who speak out against transgender ideology and the grooming of children. Turns […] The post Ep 819 | Jen Hatmaker Commemorates Her Divorce from Evangelicalism appeared first on alliebethstuckey.com. [...]

Ep 818 | How LGBTQ Became Our State Religion | Guest: Auron MacIntyre

Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube Watch or Listen on BlazeTV Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey: Today we’re joined by Auron MacIntyre, BlazeTV host of “The Auron MacIntyre Show,” to discuss why the Right isn’t winning and the “Total State” takeover of the religion of LGBTQ. We discuss the rainbow brigade’s insistence on exposing […] The post Ep 818 | How LGBTQ Became Our State Religion | Guest: Auron MacIntyre appeared first on alliebethstuckey.com. [...]

Ep 817 | Parenting Influencers Go All-In on Pride Propaganda

Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube Watch or Listen on BlazeTV Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey: Today we’re discussing several parenting influencers who have jumped into giving advice on how to teach kids about Pride Month. We respond to some of the things they’ve said regarding Pride and give you some encouragement and advice […] The post Ep 817 | Parenting Influencers Go All-In on Pride Propaganda appeared first on alliebethstuckey.com. [...]

Ep 816 | Reliving the Trauma of Sharing a Locker Room with ‘Lia’ Thomas | Guest: Riley Gaines

Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube Watch or Listen on BlazeTV Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey: Today, we’re joined by Riley Gaines to talk about her decision to speak out against men competing in women’s sports. Her story started when she tied with Lia (Will) Thomas in the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships and saw […] The post Ep 816 | Reliving the Trauma of Sharing a Locker Room with ‘Lia’ Thomas | Guest: Riley Gaines appeared first on alliebethstuckey.com. [...]

Ten Things You (Probably) Don’t Know About C. S. Lewis

Unusual facts and common misunderstandings that take your knowledge beyond Narnia. [...]

John Calvin: Justice Is a Form of Worship

According to the Reformer, pursuing the good of others is a way to love God. [...]

An Unsung Inspiration for the Protestant Reformation: the Ethiopian Church

For the Reformers, renewing the church was a Pentecost moment tied to the global body of Christ. [...]

Juneteenth Was an Answer to Centuries of Prayer

African Americans asked the Lord for liberation for years. They still do. [...]

The Synod of Dort Was Protestantism’s Biggest Debate

Why Arminians and Reformers squared off 400 years ago. [...]